The design of the tracksuits of Filipino athletes went public in June of last year during their training camp in the French city of Metz for the Paris Olympics.

Last October, Filipino athletes in the World Games in Chengdu were all clad in perked-up and more colorful tracksuits and podium shirts, and the same uniforms were also worn at the Asian Youth Games in Manama in October.

Now, everyone who’s seen the track suits and T-shirts are mesmerized and each wanted one — practically at any cost.

“Each time I look into my cabinet and see the old national team jackets, each competition had a different design and color,” Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said on Friday during the Team Philippines send off for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

“It’s always been that way and I always noticed some countries have identities — one look at the colors and designs and you’ll easily identify which country they’re from,” he said, citing the unique designs used by athletes from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, United States, Canada, The Netherlands, France, Italy, South Africa and Australia, among others.

Case in point: Malaysia’s tiger stripes, Canada’s maple leaf, Brazil’s green-yellow-blue and, perhaps one of the more recognizable, orange of the Dutch.

“We need an identity, one that also depicts the beautiful spots in our country — for tourism purposes, too,” added Tolentino, who as POC head commissioned sports apparel brand Peak to come out with a design that will be a Filipino athlete’s trademark in the years to come.

“Finally, we have one, and everyone wants at least one,” said Tolentino, adding that his native Tagaytay City is part of the design. “Go spot the Taal Volcano.”

Tolentino said that during the World Games and Asian Youth Games, athletes and officials, even ministers, wanted one and were willing to swap theirs.

“But no one did, our athletes and coaches, they love the design,” he said.

Come next Tuesday, 1,600 Filipino athletes and hundreds of coaches, officials and delegation members will be showing not only in the region but again to the whole world the unique and attractive uniforms in the SEA Games.

“This will be the identity of Philippine sports — only the event patch will be changed — and of course, the POC and PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) logos will always be there,” he said.